Soul Mates
by readbetweenthesigns
Summary: Puck knew, the moment he saw her again, he knew, it had to be this time, now and forever, soul mates...Season 5 slightly altered to fit Jake and Marley too. M for language and references, complete.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Ownership is neither claimed nor implied.**

**A/N: "He forgave us, right?"**

**"Yes, a long time ago...Rachel was his soul mate..."**

**"Who's your soul mate? Biff? I know who my soul mate is, has been since we were fifteen years old...just give me a reason, tell me to stay..."**

**"You don't want to be with me, I can't be honest in a relationship..."**

**"...the truth is there's only one guy you were ever really honest with...just tell me to stay..."**

**"Stay, please stay...but I have a confession to make...I wasn't always honest with you, I lied to you, it was only by omission but I lied to you. Do you remember, the day that Beth was born and I asked you if you loved me?"**

**"Yes..."**

**"I should have told you then, when you said that you did, I should have told you the truth, I loved you then and I still do, I love you Noah Puckerman, and it's you, it's always been you, **_**you're**_** my soulmate..." **

"Can you believe he did that?" Marley asked, sniffing into her soggy tissue again. "That he would...urgh...I don't even want to think about it, how could he? How could he do that to me?" she demanded.

"Well, let's take a look at the clues," Quinn advised. "Number one, he's a Puckerman, number two he's male, number three he's a Puckerman, number four he's a horny teenager and number five, he's a Puckerman," she said, counting on the fingers of her left hand.

"Yeah, but not all Puckermans are like that," Marley replied with a tearful nod towards Quinn's finger and the ring that graced it. "Puck's not like that, he's faithful to you," she pouted, her tone almost accusing.

"He is now," Quinn agreed. "But he wasn't always. We've been through a lot, both together and separately and we, well, we work best together, we bring out the best in each other," she said with a shrug. "I have no clue how, we just do," she grinned, tilting the laptop back a little for Marley to see Puck come in the door. "I have to go, I have to make dinner for the conquering hero," Quinn mocked as Puck leaned over the back of the couch to drop a kiss on top of her head.

"Cool, I'm starving, I left before lunch and drove straight through. Hey Marley," Puck said with a wave at the screen. "Where's my idiot brother? Did you kick his ass yet?" he asked, he'd heard from Quinn what Jake had done, Jake hadn't had the balls to tell Puck himself. Marley sniffed and shook her head, trying to hold in her tears along with the broken little giggle that just bubbled up from inside her as she imagined herself physically kicking Jake's ass. "Want me to come to Lima and kick his ass for you?" he offered, Marley laughed again.

"No. Thanks for the offer, but no," Marley replied and sniffed inelegantly then wiped under her eyes, looking at her fingers to see if her mascara had run. "I think it'll hurt him more if I just don't forgive him," she decided. Much as she would dearly love to kick Jake from one side of Lima to the other, Marley really wasn't into violence, she'd seen far too much of that in the years before her mother had finally kicked her dad to the kerb, Edward Rose had been entirely too handy with his fists when things weren't going his way. "Tell Quinn thanks for the pep talk," she said before she cut the connection.

* * *

"Dude, are you freakin' insane?" Puck hissed at Jake, checking towards the kitchen, hoping that Quinn didn't come back into the living room any time soon, she was seriously pissed at Jake for treating Marley the way he had. "That girl is so hurt," he told him, shaking his head. "She doesn't even want me to come and kick your ass and believe me, I offered. What the hell were you thinking?" Puck suddenly demanded, actually getting angry with his brother. "Did you learn nothing from me or dad? From our mistakes?" he asked.

"Puck, chill," Jake finally managed to get a word in, frowning at his brother over the internet hook up. "Marley's cool, she understands," he said, carelessly tossing Marley's hurt feelings aside. "I mean, I'm a guy, she knows I have needs, she's not prepared to do it so I had to find it elsewhere. Doesn't mean I care about her any less, it doesn't mean anything, Bree, well, she's just a hook up, she's available whenever I want, it's just sex, I don't love her, I love Marley," he explained, his words petering out as he noticed the look of disgust on his big brother's face.

"Marley is so far from cool and understanding about this," Puck corrected Jake's delusion. "Which bit of the garbage you just spouted actually sounded real to you?" he demanded. "Because that sounded like the biggest load of crap I have ever heard and that's saying something, I lived with dad till I was thirteen don't forget," he reminded Jake.

"Yeah, well, some of us only got his name, not his time," Jake sighed, once again making Puck feel like crap for mentioning their dad in the first place.

"Trust me, you were the winner in that race," Puck murmured, more to himself than to Jake.

"What? I missed that, speak up," Jake ordered Puck while checking something on his phone. Puck thought it was possibly from his current squeeze, if the sudden flash of interest in Jake's eyes was anything to go by.

"Doesn't matter, look, I'm going, I only have tonight here with Quinn then I have to be back on base, I can't be late again," Puck sighed. "I'll give you a call some time next week, I hope you get your head on straight and apologise to Marley, she deserves that at least," he reminded Jake. "See ya," he added just before he cut the connection.

"Is it safe to come in now?" Quinn asked from the doorway. "I don't even want to see him, I know he's your brother but he's an asshole," she said with a frown.

Puck looked over and did a double take when he saw the stocking clad leg with an exceptionally high heeled, sparkling, rhinestone encrusted 'fuck me' shoe sliding daintily up the door frame towards the ceiling. He watched as a hand latched on to the edge of the door, presumably to steady the rest of Quinn while that one leg rose higher and higher. He walked towards the door, applauding slowly, appreciatively. "Wow," Puck breathed as he caught sight of Quinn. There was very little else on her body, besides the tiniest, raunchiest thong that Puck had ever seen. "Jesus, where the hell did you find that?" he asked, once he had swallowed enough and could actually string almost coherent sounds together.

"A little insider information from our mutual stripper friend," Quinn replied with a wink and a jiggle of her boobs so that the rhinestone pasties covering her nipples twinkled in the dim light.

"Only Santana could find a crotchless thong," Puck murmured with appreciation, his fingers toying with the thin, lightweight ropes of rhinestone that were in place of any sort of fabric for the front of her panties. "I am in awe of your shopping abilities," he said, his mouth lifted at one side as he concentrated on gently shifting the rhinestone strands on her thong, which in turn made Quinn shift restlessly as it brought wonderful pressure to bear on her most sensitive parts. "And so thankful for the years and years that Coach Sylvester made you practice the splits upright against the wall."

"She did it for punishment, you know," Quinn reminded Puck with a little grin on her lips.

"Oh you have been a bad, bad girl," Puck sighed as he pressed himself up behind her, his fingers toying with the strands of rhinestone, his lips seeking out the sensitive parts of her neck, behind her ears. "Such a bad girl," he whispered just before he spun her in his arms and carried her towards her bedroom.

* * *

The high-pitched scream of the smoke alarm sounding throughout the house gave the first indication that needs other than his stomach had taken priority for Puck. "Aw, crap," he cried, diving out of bed and running into the kitchen. Quinn followed and wafted a towel to try to get the smoke away from the sensor on the ceiling while Puck leapt out of the kitchen and into the back yard with a flaming roasting pan held out at arm's length, an oven mit on to protect his hand and nothing else. Not another stitch. "Evening Mrs Melner," he called across the fence to Quinn's upstairs neighbour as she gawped, wide eyed at Puck, in all his majestic, rampant glory, her half smoked cigarette dangling from her lip. Puck gently placed the pan on the stone bird table then slowly turned, walked back to the house and climbed the four steps to the back door, he figured she might as well get a good look at his rear end too, she'd just had a real eyeful of Puck junior.

Quinn watched from the doorway, she'd taken the time to grab her bathrobe at least, she couldn't help but grin at Puck's face. "Hi Mrs Melner," she called to the little old lady who still hadn't yet said a word. "You know she's going to tell the agent about this, don't you?" she murmured to Puck as he passed her. She closed the door firmly, shutting out the cooling Connecticut evening.

Silence reigned in Quinn's quaint little duplex. Quinn loved her little apartment. She had the whole of the ground floor of the 1920's house and Mrs Melner had the upstairs. The front yard was given over to parking for both herself and Mrs Melner and the rear yard had been split right down the middle, giving them both a long thin strip of yard that they each had to take care of. In times gone by, the house had been a single family home but in more recent years it had been taken over by developers and converted into the two apartments. Quinn felt lucky to have found this property, at a reasonable rent and in a great location. The only downside was how far away Puck was stationed. Still, she only had a few months to go to get her degree, she was already planning to do her Master's and was debating transferring to a college closer to Goldsboro, North Carolina where Puck was stationed. She'd already made enquiries to Central Michigan which was actually in Goldsboro. Maybe she'd get lucky, maybe she'd be able to rent a little house there in Goldsboro, then Puck could come over all the time he wasn't on duty or deployed anywhere, either on a training mission or on something more secretive. If she was being entirely honest though, she didn't really want to go there. What she really wanted to do was transfer to the University of Massachusetts in Boston, their Counseling and School Psychology program was exactly what Quinn was looking for. But it was even further away from Puck, another two hours at least. That made her hesitate.

"I wonder if I could transfer somewhere closer," Quinn murmured against Puck's chest, thinking of the minimum nine hour drive that was facing him in just a few hours. "I mean, you'll have spent at least eighteen hours on the road to spend just eight hours with me, it's not worth it," she sighed, feeling Puck's hand rub up and down her bare back. "You'll be exhausted, you'll be up on another charge if you over-sleep again or if there's any traffic and you're late back, it's just not right, we should work out something better, something that doesn't take almost a whole day," she pouted then touched her tongue to his ringless nipple. "But we'll work on that in a little while," she murmured, lifting herself over him, touching her lips to his. Puck wrapped his arms tight around Quinn and held her close as they loved, rocked together, Quinn on top of him, her arms around his neck.

* * *

"Hi mom," Quinn said with a grin at the laptop screen. "What have you been up to this week?" she asked.

"I had dinner with Claudia and Caroline," Judy Fabray began, mentioning two of her friends in their newly formed First Wives Club. "I met Ruth for coffee this morning," she added. "She says she hasn't seen Noah for months, every bit of spare time he has he drives up to New Haven, is that right?" she asked.

"Yeah," Quinn sighed. "It's not fair though, it's such a long way," she said, frowning, trying to work out a better solution than an eighteen hour round trip. Flying there and back would work out far too expensive to do on a regular basis, she just couldn't see a way round it. "I'm thinking of transferring for my Master's," she admitted to her mom and watched to gauge her reaction.

"Transferring to where?" Judy asked, she really hoped that Quinn hadn't heard her gulp, she really didn't want Quinn to transfer at all, she was so proud of her daughter for getting into Yale.

"I've been checking out different options and although Central Michigan is actually based in Goldsboro, and that would be ideal for living arrangements, I would be compromising on what I'm looking for with my education," Quinn explained with a huge frowning sigh.

"So what would happen if you compromised on your education, went to Central Michigan and then Noah got deployed for a lengthy period, say six months or a year, would the transfer have been worth it?" Judy asked then waited for an answer.

"It would knock about thirty minutes off my journey to Lima," Quinn replied with a completely fake smile, "so it's not a total bust even if he does get deployed, which I'm sure he will at some point," she admitted. Quinn pouted and growled in frustration.

"Will you do something for me?" Judy asked Quinn, looking very serious, very intense.

"Sure," Quinn replied with a shrug.

"Don't make any moves based on a relationship, make all your moves based on yourself, be selfish," Judy urged. "I based my life around your father. Everything I did was with him in mind, from the college I went to, the charity work I chose, everything and look where that got me," she added. "Tossed aside for a younger, more exciting model," she reminded Quinn. "Now I'm not saying that Noah would do the same thing, although, to be fair, he does have a pretty crappy track record," Judy murmured, Quinn pulled a face but she could not dispute a word her mother was saying.

"Maybe he got all of his crazy, bad decisions out of the way early," Quinn suggested with an embarrassed, breathless laugh.

"Maybe he did," Judy agreed with a nod. "And maybe, in twenty years he'll be looking for something, someone more exotic, like a tattooed freak," she muttered the last part, more to torture herself than to advise Quinn.

"He doesn't have to look far," Quinn murmured almost silently and thought about her own artwork, the Ryan Seacrest monstrosity she got during her skank melt down and the more recent addition, the one she'd had done with Puck, they each had half of the tattoo, together they made a full one, Puck had 'one love' and Quinn had 'one heart' on their ribs on the left side, followed by the date of their reunion in Roman numerals III-XX-MMXIV, March 20th, 2014, Quinn remembered the day well. "You're my soul mate too," she whispered.

"What was that dear? I missed that," Judy asked, noting the flush on her daughter's cheeks. "Are you alright? You're not coming down with something, are you?" she questioned.

"No mom, I'm fine, it's just a little warm in here," Quinn replied. "I have to go, I need to get ready for tonight, Rachel and Santana are on their way from New York for a girls' night out," she lied as she spotted Puck's icon flashing, letting her know he was online and trying to connect with her.

"Alright sweetie, we'll catch up in the week," Judy said with a nod. "Bye, honey."

"Bye mom," Quinn called just before she closed the connection. "Hey," she said as Puck's face appeared on her laptop screen. "How are you today?" she asked with a shy smile.

"I'm good," Puck replied. "What are you wearing?" he asked, his voice husky, that certain look in his eyes that turned Quinn on so much.

"Nothing," Quinn replied, knowing he was only asking about her underwear. "Totally commando," she sighed.

"Show me," Puck begged quietly, the need in his voice vibrated through the miles to pluck at an answering need in her. Quinn felt her body tremble, felt a jolt, a flush of excitement, of arousal. "Show me," he repeated.

Quinn stood up, she carefully placed her laptop where the camera could get the best view of her. Slowly, very slowly she began to move to some unheard tune, she danced and removed her clothes, stripping like a pro, just like Santana had taught her when she'd spent a week in New York complaining about what a shitty boyfriend Puck was turning out to be when he had cancelled their weekend plans for the third time in succession. She had been forced to eat her words when he had surprised her by taking her to Paris for their one year anniversary. Puck had traded all his down time with other guys in his section to get the two weeks off to take her. And she had loved it, what they'd seen of it once they'd decided to venture further than their hotel room, which admittedly had taken about five days. And then he'd surprised her even more on their last night there when he had taken her to the top of the Eiffel Tower and proposed to her before taking her to the ridiculously expensive Jules Verne restaurant on a lower level.

"Fuck, you're awesome," Puck breathed when she was finally naked, stood in a suggestive pose in front of the camera, for his viewing pleasure. "I wish I was with you right now," he sighed.

"Where are you?" Quinn asked, it looked like he was in his truck somewhere, he wasn't in uniform so she knew he was off duty.

"Look out of your window," Puck suggested.

Quinn pulled her t-shirt on and ran to the window. "Arrgghh," she squealed when she saw Puck's truck parked at the kerb. Quinn opened the door and ran to his truck, she launched herself into his arms the second he stepped out.

"Jeez, Quinn, give the neighbours an eyeful, why don't you?" Puck cried, laughing at the look on her face when she realised she was almost naked and out in the street for anyone to gawp at. "At least when I ran out of here naked I was in the back yard," he teased before he attacked her mouth with his. Puck groaned into her mouth as he walked to the apartment with Quinn in his arms, her arms and legs wrapped around him, her bare ass on display. "Evening Mrs Melner," he said with a wink as he passed her door at the very second she opened it. "It's a beautiful night, don't you think?" he added over his shoulder just before he pushed Quinn's front door shut with his foot.

* * *

"So I have some news for you," Puck said, nuzzling between her breasts as he lay partially over her, in her bed.

"Mmm?" Quinn sighed her question, she felt amazingly relaxed, replete in the best possible way.

"I put in for a transfer," Puck announced. "I didn't tell you before because I didn't know if it would come off. Anyway, I got it, I'm transferring to Hanscom, Mass. I'll only be a couple of hours away," he said and hugged her even closer. "I was so proud of you when you told us all you'd been accepted to Yale, I don't know if I ever told you that before, but I was, I am," he said quietly, his lips against her skin. "I know you've been looking at other options, other colleges, but I don't want you to give up something that you worked so hard for, especially not for me."

"You'd do that? For me?" Quinn asked, her disbelief evident in her voice.

"I'd do anything for you," Puck reminded her and gave her the look, that heavy lidded look, the look that had melted her insides since she was fifteen years old. "I love you, you're my soul mate."

"I love you too," Quinn sighed as her lips joined with his once more.

"There's something else I need to tell you," Puck said nervously a few minutes later...

* * *

"Quinnie," Judy cried as Quinn parked her car on the driveway about a month later. "I wasn't expecting you till tomorrow," she added, so pleased to see her daughter, close to tears too, menopause was an absolute bitch.

"My last class was cancelled so I came a day early," Quinn shrugged, hugging her mom back. "And there's something I want to discuss with you," she said, sounding quite serious.

"Sounds intriguing," Judy said with an uncertain smile. "Come on, let's get something to eat, we can snack and chat." Judy made sandwiches while Quinn brewed a fresh pot of coffee. "Ok, tell me what has you sighing every thirty seconds," Judy teased lightly as they sat at the island in the kitchen, sandwiches and a fruit bowl between them.

"Ok," Quinn said and blew out a breath to calm her nerves. "Well, you know how I've been checking out other options, for the fall, for my Master's," she said, looking at her mother with slightly worried eyes.

"Yes," Judy nodded, keeping her gaze trained on her incredibly nervous daughter, she could see Quinn physically trembling.

"Well, I applied to University of Massachusetts in Boston," Quinn began in a rush, desperate to get it all out before she lost her nerve, "and I got accepted. The course is slightly more school psychology focussed than what I've been doing at Yale, but actually, I think it's more me," she explained, still without giving Judy any eye contact. Judy waited, she knew there would be more to come, no way would Quinn be so nervous just for that. "And also," she added, her voice trembling even more, "I will be living about thirty minutes away from campus," she said quietly, studying her fingernails rather than looking at her mother. "I'll be living on base with Puck," she announced then bit her lip, waiting for her mother to say something, anything.

"I don't understand," Judy said, looking at Quinn with troubled eyes. "How?"

"Puck's transfer to Hanscom has gone ahead," Quinn told her mom, feeling a little more relieved now that her mother hadn't exploded. At least she hadn't yet. "He's already living in what will be our house," she said and looked down at her cup, debating whether to pour herself more coffee or to get out of Dodge while she could.

"And what else?" Judy demanded, sitting back in her seat with her arms folded, her lips pursed. "There's something more, Quinnie, I know there is, and when Noah Puckerman is involved it usually means trouble," she added under her breath.

"Oh, no, it's nothing to worry about," Quinn swiftly denied as she hurried to answer the knock at the front door. "Hi," she said to Puck's mom and his sister. "Come in," she told them and allowed them to step past her. "Hey," she murmured to Puck as he wrapped his arms around her and bent for a sneaky kiss.

"Did you tell her yet?" Puck whispered with a nod towards the kitchen.

"Not yet, I was just about to..." Quinn replied, she was cut off.

"LUCY QUINN FABRAY," Judy yelled from the kitchen.

"I sort of get the feeling she just found out," Puck informed Quinn, quite unnecessarily. They both turned to face the sound of feet thundering in their direction.

"Married?" Judy shouted at them both crossly. "You got _married_?" she demanded. Both Puck and Quinn gulped. "Without telling us? Why?" she cried. "Why would you do that? Cheat us all out of being there?" she wailed. "Quinn, I can't believe you would do that to me," she managed to say before she started to cry. Judy turned to Ruth. "We said they'd do something stupid, didn't we?" she sobbed. "We knew, from the second you got together, we knew. I thought you'd get pregnant again before you finish college and have to give it all up," she added, getting herself back under control a little. "You're not are you? Is that why?" she asked crossly, dabbing at her eyes with her pretty, lace edged handkerchief.

"No, no, look, Judy," Puck hurriedly began, reaching out a hand to his mother-in-law, he glanced over Judy's shoulder at his sister who was silently laughing at them. "Judy, I'm sorry you feel you've been cheated, that wasn't why we did it like that," he reassured her. "Shelby offered us the chance of spending a few days with Beth before they moved to England and Beth's biggest wish was to be a bridesmaid, how could we say no to that?" he asked, giving Judy his very, very best puppy dog eyes. "We had a quickie, thrown together ceremony in New York just for her and I promise, we'll do it again in the summer, do it properly and we'll even let you have free rein," he offered. "Anything you want."

"You mean you'd even do it in a church?" Judy pounced immediately, sensing a moment of weakness.

"Anywhere you want," Puck offered, despite Quinn pinching his ass to get him to stop promising her mother the earth. "But we have to have a rabbi as well as your pastor, right?" he suggested, nodding at Quinn then at his mom. Ruth nodded with a satisfied smile, his sister almost bust a gut laughing, still managing to keep it silent, oh she was going to get some mileage out of this.

"Oh, man, you are so whipped," Sarah managed to say through her laughter. "He hasn't told you yet that mom threatened to ground him, has he?" she added to Quinn, she was almost apoplectic with laughter, she could barely breathe. "Ground him!" she repeated. "He's twenty-two," she screamed, tears pouring down her face.

"I might have over-reacted a little," Ruth mumbled with a fiery red face.

"I asked if she was going to call my CO," Puck muttered to Quinn. "Or you," he added with a wink. "You can ground me, send me to my room maybe," he suggested with a wink, "if you come with me," he added, hopefully.

"Well, I must admit, although I'm hurt," Judy sighed, heaping the guilt on to them, "I can understand why you rushed this, especially to have Beth be a part of it, but please, can we take our time and plan it properly?" she pouted.

"Yes, of course," Puck and Quinn replied together, their arms around each other. "We do have to discuss this weekend though," Quinn added.

"Discuss what?" Judy asked.

"Erm, where we'll stay," Quinn replied with a faint blush. "Oh God, just open up and swallow me now, floor, please, please?" she thought. "We've spent enough time apart and this weekend is the last time we'll be able to spend time together till I move to Bedford," she informed her mother, Judy still didn't get it. "So, do we sleep here or at Ruth's house?" she spelled out.

"Oh, oh," Judy started as she realised what Quinn was saying. "Oh, fine, you can both stay here, I have no objections, now that you're actually married," she told them, surprising the hell out of Puck, he would have thought she'd object all the more now.

"Thanks, Judy," Puck replied with a wink. "You don't mind, do you mom?" he asked, he didn't want to insult his mom, make her feel left out, but really, this was a no-brainer, stay in Quinn's old room with her en suite bathroom or stay in his old room and share a bathroom with his sister, hmm, difficult decision. Not.

"Of course not, Noah," Ruth replied, she'd have gone for the same option too. "And welcome to the family Quinn, I am so happy for both of you," she cried, walking towards Quinn to hug her. "This doesn't mean I will cook bacon for you for breakfast," she teased, Quinn laughed and hugged Ruth tight.

* * *

"Hey," Puck called as Jake came through the door at Breadstix, waving him over to their table. Puck and Quinn waited for the teen to take a seat. "So, how have you been?" Puck asked.

"Not good," Jake admitted. "Marley still won't talk to me, she still cuts me dead except if we have to sing together but I suppose that will all end next month when we graduate," he sighed. Jake looked as depressed as he sounded.

"Hate to say this dude, but what did you expect?" Puck asked. "I mean, you went with another girl, behind her back and then openly flaunted it, what's she supposed to do? Forgive you?"

"You did the same," Jake retorted, giving Puck an indolent stare. "And she forgave you."

"And do you know how long it took?" Puck reminded Jake. He picked up Quinn's hand and looked at her. "Years, it took years for us to work it out, and if we hadn't all got together for Mr Schue that time, maybe we wouldn't have ever worked it out, maybe the timing wouldn't have been right. Oh my God, you could have married that Yale dick, Biff," he realised and told Quinn, pulling a face.

"Instead I married you," Quinn responded and reached up to kiss Puck's cheek.

"_What_?" Jake cried, looking at his brother and Quinn in shock.

"Ah, yeah, that's sort of what I want to talk to you about," Puck mumbled, embarrassed. "See, we had a quickie, secret sort of wedding in New York last month and the moms have just found out about it," he explained.

"Oh my God," Jake whispered, wide-eyed. "And Ruth hasn't killed you?" he asked, in awe of his brother's ability to talk himself out of any hotspot.

"My mom wasn't the problem, her mom on the other hand," Puck replied, shaking his head. "Anyway, we kind of had to promise we'll have a second ceremony with all our family and friends around us and that's where you come in," he added then blew out a breath. "I'd like you to be my best man," Puck told his brother, his eyes narrowed against some weird unknown emotion. "This is not right, I should be asking Finn to do this for me," he realised silently. "Finn, man, if you're listening, I know you'll be there for us, I still love you like a brother dude, rest easy," he thought and glanced upwards.

"Really?" Jake asked, absolutely dumbfounded that Puck would want him to do an important job like that. "You really want me?" he asked.

"Of course," Puck replied, he could see exactly how emotional Jake was finding this, he knew first hand how much their dad's constant rejection nibbled away at a person's self-confidence. "Jake, you're my brother, you might be an idiot sometimes, but there's no one else on the planet I would ask to do this for me," he said intensely, he meant every word, Finn wasn't on the planet anymore.

"Puck, I know that if Finn was still here, you'd want him," Jake said with deep understanding. "I get it, you guys were best friends for years and I was the strange little kid that showed up on your doorstep and told you we had the same dad," he said with a shrug. "But I would be honoured to stand up with you, be your best man."

"Thanks," Puck murmured and held out a hand to shake with his brother. "Now what are we going to eat, I am starving," he announced.

"You're always starving," Quinn said with a gentle shove at Puck's shoulder. "I am going to the ladies room, if you guys will excuse me," she added and stood up, Puck stood and moved out of the booth for Quinn to pass, he noticed what Quinn must have noticed, he winked at Quinn and nodded. If anyone could, Quinn could.

Quinn followed Marley into the ladies room. "He hasn't seen me, has he?" Marley begged tearfully, her hands wrapping nervously in her little white apron. "I only just started working here last weekend, he doesn't know I'm here, I asked Sandra to swap stations with me, you're sat in my section," she added, karma sure is a bitch sometimes.

"I know exactly how betrayed you feel," Quinn said quietly to Marley, "and I'm not asking you to forgive him or understand him, none of this was your fault, it is all entirely him, he just needs to realise that," she told the tearful young girl. "In our senior year, me and Puck, well, we tried again to be together, we'd tried while I was pregnant and that didn't work out too well, we tried over that first summer after Beth then he got sent to juvie when he did something really stupid and for that whole year, right up till we went to New York, we managed to stay off each other's radars. And that was the longest year of my life. In New York, for Nationals, we found each other again for a while but Puck was dating someone else so we ended it and I had a sort of melt down, I got a tattoo," she revealed, rolling her eyes.

"Like this?" Marley asked, lifting her uniform top to reveal a heart ripped in two tattooed on her left side.

"Much worse, that I can understand," Quinn replied with a nod towards the heart, she sighed and shook her head at herself, at her own embarrassment. "No, I got this," she admitted and lifted the back of her shirt to show off the Ryan Seacrest. Marley looked surprised and puzzled. "Yeah, don't ask," Quinn giggled. "Anyway, even though we both knew who we should be with, even though we both knew that there wouldn't be anyone else for either of us and any relationship was doomed to fail, we still couldn't get our act together, we pushed each other away, used the excuse of Beth and anyone else around us, truth is, we were both afraid to try because we had failed each other so many times before," she explained simply. "And I would love you to be in our wedding party this summer, but I understand if you want to refuse. Puck just asked Jake to be his best man," she added. "And now I'm going back out there otherwise they'll think I'm pooping," she grinned.

Quinn walked to the door and pushed it open. "Quinn, wait," Marley called. Quinn turned around. "How did you know you could trust Puck again?" she asked, trying her very best to not allow the tears to fall.

"I didn't," Quinn replied softly, "I just had to have faith," she shrugged with a sad smile. "Same as every day, I have faith that I will wake up, that the sun will rise, that Puck will love me, I just accept it as it is," she said. "But it's worth the risk because a life with him is so much more than a life without him," she added, "and we are meant to be, he's my soul mate."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Ownership is neither claimed nor implied.**

**A/N: Soul mates forever...**

Quinn walked back to the booth. "Is she ok?" Jake asked the second Quinn sat down.

"Who?" Quinn asked, shuffling in her seat to get comfortable.

"Marley," Jake answered. "I don't know why she would think I didn't know she works here. You know, she still won't talk to me, at least, not properly," he muttered and covertly glanced around while drinking his icy soda

"She's still really hurt, Jake, heartbroken," Quinn replied, she knew that Jake already knew that, it had been made perfectly clear to him many, many times. "And I don't think she's ready to share her feelings with you," she added then patted his hand sympathetically. Quinn was slightly puzzled as to why she did genuinely feel sympathy for him. Maybe because he looked so like Puck when he smiled, maybe it was because he seemed really, really sorry.

Jake sucked it up and nodded, he knew that Quinn was right, he knew that Puck had been right when he'd called him on his behaviour a couple of months ago but he hated to admit it. "So, tell me about the wedding," he encouraged, opening up the conversation to something that would not require him to use every ounce of his performing skills to pretend that everything was ok.

"Which one?" Puck asked, giving an intense narrow-eyed stare to his brother, something was just a little bit off with Jake and Puck knew it. "The one we already had or the one we're going to have?"

"The one you already had first, did you get any pictures?" Jake asked.

"Yes, some, here," Quinn replied, delving into her cavernous purse for her ever present camera. "See?" she said as she offered the camera to Jake for him to click through the snaps.

"Oh wow, how big is she?" Jake sighed as he looked at pictures of his niece in her pretty, lilac coloured dress. "How old is she now?" he asked, looking up at Puck and Quinn, he rolled his eyes in disgust at the dopey, loving looks they were giving each other.

"Almost six, she'll be six next week," Quinn responded, taking the camera back to click further on to more pictures of Beth. Beth had loved spending time with Puck and Quinn, she knew that they were her birth parents even though she wasn't really sure what that meant, but her mommy always told her that it made them both special and that they loved her very, very much. Beth had been giving her birth parents a demonstration of her dancing abilities, showing off her ballet skills and her jazz hands when she'd suddenly realised that her wobbly tooth was almost out. Beth had cried and sobbed uncontrollably, she'd raced to her mommy and sobbed pitifully against her. Shelby had explained exactly what was so upsetting to the little blonde beauty. Beth's very best friend, Molly, had just been a bridesmaid and then lost her front tooth, Beth had somehow connected the two and thought that she would forever have a wobbly tooth if she didn't get to be a bridesmaid soon. Beth was so upset at the thought of A, never losing the tooth so never having a visit from the tooth fairy and B, never having been a bridesmaid because who would want a bridesmaid with wobbly teeth? Quinn brought herself back to the present with a smile still on her face, she couldn't help but feel cheered with every memory she had of the little girl who'd had such a profound effect on her life.

"We didn't have much time to waste, it was a very wobbly tooth," Puck explained with a grin, he tightened his arm around Quinn's shoulders for a second before letting it relax again. "So we went to the City Clerk's office, got a license and Shelby's cousin, he's a celebrant, he married us the next day, there's a twenty-four hour waiting period in New York," he added with a shrug as if that explained the very slight delay.

"But why didn't you just wait a few weeks, just let your moms organise everything like they're doing now?" Jake suggested. "You could at least have told someone, told me," he added, his disappointment evident in his voice.

"Well, my transfer to Hanscom was already in the works and I wouldn't have been eligible for family housing if I was still single so it was going to happen," Puck told Jake even as he looked lovingly at Quinn. "Quinn already had her acceptance from UMass, we'd already decided that this is what we wanted, we didn't have anything to wait for and then when Shelby called and told us she'd had a job offer in London and it was one she couldn't refuse, then she invited us to spend a few days with Beth before they left, it just seemed to make sense, you know?"

Jake nodded and sat thoughtfully for a few minutes. "So do you think we could do a Glee thing at your wedding?" he asked, the hint of a sly look appearing in his eyes. "Your _official_ wedding," he added with a grin.

"Whatever it is you're plotting, forget it," Puck advised. "Even if Marley is willing to be a part of the wedding, she still might not want to be anywhere near you and you just have to accept that dude."

"Look, Puck, I know I did wrong," Jake sighed, his eyes dropping to look down, he looked as though he was truly ashamed of himself and of his behaviour. "I know I hurt her a lot, and to expect forgiveness is just arrogant beyond measure," he declared, blinking away the by now familiar moisture in his eyes, "at least that's what my mom tells me," he sniffed. "I don't know about that," he said quietly. "I do know I'm an idiot and I lost the best thing to have ever happened to me, I chased away the one person who understood me, understood my need to dance, to perform and I know that if the tables were turned, I wouldn't be able to forgive her, so I don't expect Marley to forgive me, ever," he finished quietly.

Quinn watched Jake as he spoke, watched how he positioned himself just so, noted how he looked so truthful, so sincere, sounded as though he said every word from the heart. And then she noted the betraying little flick of the eyes, an almost imperceptible glance to see if Marley was still listening as she cleared the table next to them. "Oh, bravo," Quinn thought. "You are your father's son," she realised and barely restrained the sneer. "Don't get your hopes up too high, asshole," she silently warned her young brother-in-law, "I will make sure that Marley is not blind to your talents," she vowed.

* * *

"So, I was able to confirm the caterer, the florist, the band and New Directions, obviously," Judy announced, reading from her endless list. "Now for the bad news," she sighed. "We cannot get the church, nor the church hall, not even if you were to promise your first-born son to the clergy," she joked, Puck almost fell off his stool at the breakfast bar, he'd never heard Judy mock the church before.

"How do we overcome that?" Puck asked after he'd cleared his throat. "Options?" he asked over his shoulder, Sarah was trawling the internet looking for wedding ceremony ideas.

"There's the park, weddings have been held in the bandstand before, and it will be the height of summer," Sarah suggested.

"Corny," Puck replied. "Next?" he asked.

"The country club is fully booked, all the decent hotels are too, there's just nothing available in Lima on July 1st," Sarah sighed, coming up blank after putting idea after idea into Google. "Does it _have_ to be that date?" she asked.

"Yes," Puck sighed, his head falling to his hands. "Everything else has been organised, my leave has been arranged already to take into account our honeymoon," he reminded his sister, he'd told them all last night that he and Quinn were looking forward to three weeks of total relaxation and romance in the most exclusive, beautiful resort of Little Polynesian in the Cook Islands. "We have to find a venue to fit the date."

"How about the choir room?" Quinn suggested as she tossed a salad in her mother's huge china bowl, a wedding gift that she had refrained from throwing at Russell Fabray's head when he had informed her that he was moving out and that she was being replaced in his life by an upgrade, he was trading her in for a 1980's model. Or tattooed freak, depending on your opinion. "School will be out for the summer so it won't encroach on any lessons or anything, Coach Sylvester is already ordained, do you remember when she married herself to herself?" she asked and then shook her head at the memory of her crazy ass cheerleading coach. "Maybe Sue Sylvester will consent to doing something nice for someone for a change," she added then rolled her eyes at her own stupid optimism.

"That might work," Puck agreed with a nod. "It's a renewal of vows anyway, so do we actually _need_ an ordained minister?" he asked. "Can't we just..." he paused, Judy turned and looked at Puck as though he'd crawled out from under a stone. "Yes, I know, we promised you anything that you wanted, sorry," he sighed and pulled a face at his sister when she couldn't help but giggle.

"Quinn, your dress fitting is at nine in the morning," Judy informed her daughter. "Laurel is coming over specially," she told her, then gave Puck a superior look as she announced the rest of her news. "All of your bridesmaids will be here too for their fittings, I think your bedroom will be the best location, don't you?" she asked. Quinn just looked at her mother with her mouth slightly agape, how on earth had Judy arranged for dress fittings for her bridesmaids when Quinn hadn't actually asked anyone to be her bridesmaid. Or chosen dresses for any bridesmaids. Puck was so going to pay for allowing her mother free rein.

"No lie in for me tomorrow, then," Puck muttered as he read down yet another list. "Oh, come on," he cried as he spotted an item right at the very bottom. "Seriously?" he demanded with a sad, sad look on his face. "Until July 1st?"

"What?" Quinn asked as she nibbled on a tomato as though it was an apple. Puck thrust the list into Quinn's line of vision and pointed out the item he was upset about. "No way," Quinn cried, looking at her mother with shocked eyes.

"I think it will just make your wedding night more special," Judy said as she turned back to the stove.

"Judy, we're already married," Puck reminded her rather desperately. He looked at Quinn, begged her with his puppy dog eyes to fix this, to talk to her mother. "A month?" he mouthed, then pouted like a four-year-old.

"Well, once we go back on Monday, me to New Haven, you to Bedford, we won't be able to get together till we come back here for the wedding anyway," Quinn said with a shrug and a matching pout. "I have my work placement, remember?" she reminded him and he had some intensive training thing going on too, they'd already talked about that last night, that and the fact that they would only be able to get together a couple of times even on Skype, until they returned to Lima to get married. Again.

"Yes, but I was counting on modern technology to get me through till you make the move to Bedford," Puck spluttered. "That doesn't start right now, though, right?" he demanded of Judy.

"No," Judy agreed airily, sensing that she had at least a partial victory. "But I want you to promise that you won't take advantage of an opportunity if it arises," she warned. "I want you both to stay strong, stay resolute, make no attempt to contact each other at all, and it will make your wedding night all the more memorable," she assured them. "Quinn, darling, why are you eating that? You hate to eat tomatoes like that."

Quinn looked at the red pulpy mess in her fingers and gulped. Yep, she did. She hated eating tomatoes like that, mixed with other stuff, with salad dressing, sure, but on their own? Blach. Quinn's stomach rebelled as she finally tasted what she'd been absently nibbling. Quinn ran away to puke as quietly and daintily as she could. Puck followed slowly. "You ok?" Puck asked as Quinn emerged from her bathroom, shaken, pale and visibly worried.

"Yes, I think so," Quinn replied tearfully.

"You're going to tell me you're pregnant, right?" Puck asked as he drew her close. He was worried, he didn't think they were really ready for that yet.

"Oh, no, no, I'm not, I'm sure I'm not," Quinn replied quickly. She was actually pretty damn certain that she wasn't.

"So why did you puke?" Puck asked, puzzled, then worried.

"It's like a childhood trauma thing," Quinn answered, feeling fairly stupid. "I was eating a tomato like it was an apple when my dad ran over my dog, Mitzi, in the driveway, I saw it happen, I was like, five years old or something and since then I haven't been able to eat tomatoes in that way without it making me sick to my stomach, sorry," she explained and felt so much better when Puck hugged her even tighter. "We're not ready for babies yet. I have to get my Master's, get started in my career, you have to climb the ranks, we have a lot of work to do before we even think about starting our family," she insisted.

"Damn straight," Puck agreed and let relief wash all over him. "But whatever, right?" he added, looking down at her as she rubbed her cheek on his chest. "If it happens sooner, it happens, right?" he asked, just to check.

"Sure," Quinn agreed, "but I'm not coming off birth control so if it does happen, it will be a miracle," she informed Puck with a cheeky smile. Quinn bit her lip then looked up through her lashes. "Maybe we better make the most of this weekend before we go back to our separate houses," she said huskily and brushed her lower body against him.

Puck groaned and immediately felt the surge in his loins. "How long did your mom say dinner would be?" he asked, bending his head to sip from her lips.

Quinn's arms tightened round his shoulders. "A while," she whispered, then moaned as Puck's tongue invaded her mouth, tasting her toothpaste, his hands slid to her ass and pressed her close to him. Quinn leaned back away from him and pulled the white and pink striped sweater over her head. "Oh," she gasped in surprise. "How on earth did that happen?" she asked, delight and fun shining in her eyes. Quinn's fingers found Puck's zipper and tugged it down. "Oh," she repeated, acting shocked. "There's something very strange happening to clothes in this room," she grinned as Puck walked backwards to the bed then sat down. Quinn put her trust in him as he lay back slowly and took her with him. "Mmmmm," she sighed as her eyes drifted closed.

Puck rolled Quinn over onto her back, he pushed her flirty little pink pleated skirt up above her waist and stripped off her minute pink thong. He pulled down the cups of the dainty matching bra and growled as her nipples peaked under his hot gaze. There was no finesse, none was needed, just an instant blast of intense need in Quinn that was answered by Puck as he thrust into her. Quinn's stomach quivered as she felt Puck's hips slam into the cradle of her pelvis, felt him press home, felt him thrust as far into her as he could go. And she thrust back, to press even closer to him, to eliminate even the tiniest gap between them.

Puck pulled back and knelt up on the bed, he drew Quinn up for her to sit astride his lap, their faces close together, noses touching, lips joining then parting. Quinn guided him inside her, she moaned in appreciation as she sank onto him. Puck groaned as she rocked her hips. His arms wrapped around her back to haul her even closer, Quinn crossed her feet behind him, she wanted them to be as tight as possible, Puck's lips nibbled the tender skin of Quinn's throat, he felt her heart beat thrum in time with his own, speed up with his own as they neared completion, as they came close to exploding then almost stop as they disintegrated together.

* * *

"Quinn?" Judy called from the bottom of the stairs. "Quinn? Noah? Ruth, I swear to God the only thing they do is shut themselves away in that damn room," she sighed to Puck's mom. "Sarah, would you like to go up and knock for me, please?" she asked.

"No problem," Sarah replied and fairly ran up to the top. "Quinn? Noah?" she called just before she knocked. "Hey, are you even alive?" she asked and twisted the door handle. "Hello?" she said in a loud whisper, glancing warily around the bedroom.

"What?" Puck growled as he yanked open the bathroom door, the trail of lather running down his chest towards the towel that he had hastily snagged around his waist, testament to his and Quinn's current activities.

"Judy called, dinner's ready, she asked me to come up and make sure you're coming down for dinner," Sarah explained to her brother, completely unconcerned about his scowl, she'd seen it all before, he certainly didn't scare one Sarah Gabriella Puckerman.

"Yes, ten minutes, give us ten minutes," Puck replied, exasperated. "God, they're all fucking determined that we aren't going to get together at all, not even _this_ weekend," he grumbled to himself as he turned and headed back into the bathroom, his voice faded as the door slammed behind him.

"They're coming," Sarah called downstairs to the mothers. "Noah's in the shower, they won't be long," she added. "They don't need to know that Quinn is in the shower too," she added silently to herself.

Fifteen minutes later, both Puck and Quinn - with her wet hair scraped back into a ponytail - made their way to the kitchen to meet up with their moms and Sarah. "Hi," Ruth said with a barely hidden grin as they walked in together. "So, how was Jake yesterday?" she asked. "Tanisha is really worried about him," she added. Ruth and Tanisha Puckerman had become great friends since Puck and Jake had made them sit down to Christmas dinner together at Breadstix a couple of years ago. They had a life error in common, as they both liked to remind their mutual ex-husband, especially when he was late with his child support payments. And that he was an epic ass, which they both told him even if he wasn't late with his payments. Gabe Puckerman couldn't deny it and he knew if ex-wife number 1 and ex-wife number 2 ever met ex-wife number 3, she'd probably agree with them too. And possibly the current wife who was getting very close to becoming ex-wife number 4, especially if she carried on whining about having kids, hadn't he proved already that he wasn't cut out to play daddy?

"He's trying to pretend that he's ok," Puck replied, frowning as he tried to figure his brother out. "But I don't know, he seems a bit off," he added, defeated.

"I think he's just playing at being sorry, especially when Marley is anywhere near," Quinn muttered, she still wasn't convinced that Jake was genuinely repentant. "If she has any sense Marley will just accept his apology then move on with her life, she's far too young to be tied to someone who can't be trusted."

"Woah," Puck cried, "chill out, Ms Don't Judge Me," he laughed, he felt even sorrier for his brother now, he knew exactly how unforgiving Quinn could be. Puck hoped that Quinn wasn't coaching Marley otherwise Jake had no chance of ever being forgiven.

"Didn't you notice him?" Quinn asked, cross that Puck thought she was judging. "He knew _exactly _where Marley was when he was spouting all that 'I am so sorry and I shouldn't expect her to forgive me' crap," she told him, she stood with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.

"Well, chill," Puck replied with a grin, reaching out to take both of her hands. "Don't get pissed at me because of it, I'm not my brother, ok?" he murmured as he drew her close.

"Dinner," Judy announced as she took the huge dish of moussaka from the oven, interrupting what had the potential to become a spat between the happy couple. "Sarah, can you take the salad, please?" she asked the teenager who quickly jumped up to comply. "I found this recipe online," Judy said with a smile. "It was on a Jewish food website," she added, proud of herself and the way she had been able to adapt one of her favourite dishes to accommodate her guests and their dietary needs.

"Thank you," Ruth replied, acknowledging with a nod that she was really appreciative that Judy would go to the trouble.

"So, we need to make sure we have everything organised," Judy said as they started to eat. "I just spoke with Ms Sylvester this evening," she added then glanced up at both Quinn and Puck. "She is happy for the choir room to be the venue for your wedding," she told them with a smile, Puck gave Quinn a tiny wink, he knew it was the right place for them, it was where Quinn had announced to all of their friends that she loved him, it was where he had kissed her in front of them for the very first time, it was where they finally became a couple, it was a special place, held a special place in their hearts. "She also asked if she could perform the service," Judy added, interrupting the loving look that Puck and Quinn were sharing, "and she offered the use of the gym for the reception, she said she could have it decked out like they do for prom," she told them, relieved that everything seemed to be falling into place. Puck and Quinn were happy with the plans, it just seemed so right, taking it back to where it all started.

"So what other plans do you have for the rest of this weekend?" Ruth asked to break the silence following Judy's information. "Are you meeting up with any of your friends? Are any of them even in town?" she asked.

"We only have tomorrow, then Monday morning before we have to leave, well, I have to be back in New Haven for Tuesday, I have placement commitments," Quinn replied. "And I know that at least tomorrow morning will be taken up with fittings," she sighed and rolled her eyes. "Did I even pick my dress?" she asked suddenly, she couldn't ever remember even telling her mother what style she would choose. Puck was such an ass for letting her mother run everything.

"I kind of assumed you would want to wear my dress," Judy murmured hopefully as she concentrated on eating.

"Oh," Quinn exclaimed, she hadn't ever thought about wearing her mother's beautiful, crystal encrusted, hand crafted, Grace Kelly style wedding dress. Frannie had wanted to wear it when she got married but Judy had encouraged her to choose something new, something unique, and now she was offering Quinn the chance to wear it. "Why?" she asked.

"Well, Frannie had everything, she had the whole shebang, she had your father to walk her down the aisle and with the best will in the world, we all know that Russell hates you, Noah, there's no way on God's green earth he is going to give Quinn to you, he's far too egocentric for that," she explained, totally unnecessarily, they all knew she was right. "So I think that maybe you should have something special for you," she told Quinn with a nonchalant shrug.

"Mom, the whole thing will be special, the first one was special too," Quinn replied and reached out to cover her mom's hand on the table. "I don't need _things _to make my day special, it's the _people _who make it special. Beth was the most important person at our wedding in New York and all of you guys and our friends are what will make July 1st special for us," she said sincerely.

"She's right, Judy," Puck agreed softly. "So do we really have to stay away from each other till the wedding? Can't we even have phone calls? Skype? Texting? Please?" he begged.

"She may be right," Judy replied dryly, "but you already agreed to my demands. You aren't going to go back on your word now, are you Noah?" she queried with a smug look on her face, her lips lifting in a slight smirk.

"Argh," Puck growled and looked up at the ceiling. He looked back towards Quinn. "I always knew your dad hated me, but I thought your mom kind of liked me, guess you can be really wrong about a person," he sighed, resigned to his fate.

"Don't be such a baby," Quinn giggled and leaned towards Puck to give him a peck on the lips. "It's a month. Barely," she reminded him. "And then we'll have our honeymoon and we'll begin the rest of our lives together."

"Fine," Puck sighed and rolled his eyes, but he was still wondering how he was going to cope without her, he could feel his dick screaming already.

* * *

"Morning," Puck murmured huskily as he rolled over onto his back, bringing Quinn to rest on top of him. "Mmmm," he groaned as everything slipped naturally into place. Quinn caught her breath and undulated, she rocked her hips, then pushed up from his chest, riding him.

"Knock, knock," Judy called as she knocked on the door. "Are you decent?" she asked cheerily as the door handle turned.

"No," Puck groaned as his body tensed. "Minute, minute, give us a minute," he managed to call. He rolled over and slammed into Quinn, she took everything he had, she gripped herself tight to him, her breath coming almost in sobs which she hid against his throat. "Oh God," he growled quietly into her ear, "I'm coming." When Puck's body had stopped convulsing, when he lay on her, totally still, his breath coming in short, sharp pants, Quinn began to giggle. She tried to keep it inside, her body shook with the effort. "What?" Puck asked, lifting his head to look in her eyes. "What's so funny?" he demanded, still breathless.

"My mom is outside the door," Quinn whispered. "She's outside. Right now," she repeated and burst out laughing.

"Quinnie, darling," Judy called after another knock on the door. "Is everything alright?" she asked.

"Fine mom, everything is fine," Quinn happily reassured her mother. "Just give us a second," she added and pushed Puck off of her. "Go shower, I'll be in in just a minute," she told him.

Puck loped, naked and still quite aroused, towards the bathroom. Quinn sighed a little regretfully as she watched his fine ass until it disappeared, then she pulled on his discarded shirt. "Morning mom," she said as she opened the door. "Oh. Crap," she muttered. Outside Quinn's bedroom door was her mother, her sister, Puck's sister, his mom too, Laurel, the woman who would make any and all alterations and all of the New Directions girls both past and present. "How did you all get here?" she asked, shocked, surprised and very, very touched.

"Trains, planes and automobiles," Santana quipped as she pushed past everyone to hug Quinn tight. "Mmm, I smell sex," she whispered almost silently into Quinn's ear. "You just been busy, girlfriend?" she asked just as quietly.

"Mhm," Quinn confirmed, then turned to greet all her other guests.

"Qui-holy crap," Puck cried as he came out of the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Ach, we've seen it all before, hot stuff," Santana teased and dismissed Puck with a wave of her hand.

"Some of you, maybe," Puck mumbled his agreement as he looked at the group of almost giggling women and girls with wary eyes. "Can I see you for a minute?" he asked Quinn, his eyes still on the bunch of giggling females.

"Sure," Quinn replied and followed Puck into the bathroom. Quinn closed the door behind her as her room filled with what seemed like hundreds of women. "What's up?" she asked Puck.

"Can you bring me some clothes?" Puck asked then he grinned at her. "I can't believe there were so many people outside the door when we..." he grinned even more and made a gesture with both hands, the thumb and forefinger of one hand, making a circle, the forefinger of the other poking in and out of the circle.

"There were more people around when we did it on the beach in Jamaica," Quinn reminded Puck. "And in that bar in Key Largo, remember? Actually in the bar? Yeah, I know we were drunk and it was very, very dark but still," she added with a blush, she still couldn't believe they had done such things, it made her shiver every time she recalled them. "I'm not even going to mention Rachel's party," she muttered. Puck sighed as memories rampaged around in his mind. Seven minutes in heaven with Quinn had been incredibly interesting, especially as Artie had been the time-keeper. Puck remembered that the seven minutes had been almost half an hour because Artie kept arguing with other people, especially Lauren Zizes, how best to count the seconds to make it accurate. Deliberately so, he eventually admitted to Puck in New York. Puck had thanked Artie by getting him a date with a girl from a rival team. Artie had been well and truly thanked.

"Go get me some clothes, woman," Puck growled, then kissed her loudly. "I'll get out of your hair, I'll go get breakfast somewhere, maybe meet up with Mr Schue, some of the guys if they're around. Maybe see Jake, if I can," he said, deciding what he would do with his free time. Not that he really wanted free time, he didn't, he'd rather have spent the time with Quinn.

"Ok, shower quickly, then scoot," Quinn ordered. She left the bathroom to be faced with many, many inquiring eyes, some far more amused than others. "Clothes," she explained. "He needs clothes," she added and saw Sarah fall about, giggling silently. She returned to the bathroom to take Puck the things he needed. She very quickly jumped into the shower to freshen herself up, then returned to the bedroom before her mother could be offended by the amount of time it had taken her. "Alright. So. What measurements do you need?" she asked breathlessly and let her robe fall so that she stood in just her underwear, totally unembarrassed in front of all of the girls. Laurel quickly got to work with her tape measure and note pad. "I know what I'm wearing, but what are all you girls wearing?" she asked, becoming a little puzzled why they were all there, in her room, crowded onto her bed but without a bridesmaid's dress between them.

"Oh God, this just keeps getting worse," Puck sighed when he emerged from the bathroom, dressed and ready to get out of the way. "I'll see you later," he muttered to Quinn as he kissed her, she'd turned her head to meet his lips, felt his warm hand rest lightly on her ass. Puck glanced at everyone else. "Bye, ladies," he added with a cheesy wink.

"So?" Quinn encouraged the second that Puck left the room.

"We thought that we would wear a variety of New Directions competition costumes," Rachel admitted in a rush, as though she had been holding the information inside for a long, long time and couldn't bear to keep the secret a second longer.

"What about Sarah and Frannie?" Quinn asked, indicating her sister and her sister-in-law.

"Ahh, this is where my love of hoarding clothes comes in handy," Judy announced with a cheerful smile. "Laurel can alter two of your dresses to fit them," she said. "And now that Noah is out of the way, I can bring your dress in," she sighed happily.

Quinn's head was spinning. Competition dresses? She hadn't ever thought of that, and how fitting! Her wedding was to be held in the choir room and her bridesmaids would wear dresses that would supplement the memories that they'd already made in there. How cool!

* * *

"Hey," Puck said as he took a seat next to Jake, across from Sam and Ryder. "No one else could make it?" he asked, feeling a little let down that hardly any of the guys would drag themselves out of bed on a Sunday morning to meet him for breakfast yet all the girls had done exactly that for Quinn.

"Mr Schue, Kurt and Blaine are on their way, Mike is teaching this morning so he couldn't come, Joe and Rory both send their apologies," Jake answered as he bumped fists with his brother. "I wasn't really expecting to have to meet you so early," he added then yawned behind his hand.

"Late night?" Puck asked sarcastically.

"Nope, just couldn't sleep, thinking about Marley," Jake sighed. Crying about her was more like it, not that Jake would ever admit that to anyone.

"That's because you're a dick and you think with your dick," Ryder informed Jake then turned his attention to the menu. "And if Marley has any sense of self preservation she will stay well away from you. And your dick," he added.

"Thanks, Ryder," Jake replied, his sarcasm equal to Puck's. "Like I didn't already know that's what you're encouraging her to do," he hissed. "It's why she won't listen to me, why she won't talk to me, because he drips poison in her ears every chance he gets," he told Puck.

"I'm sure that Ryder is just being a good friend to Marley," Puck said soothingly, hoping to calm the brewing fight. "Look, can we just be all guys together, eat breakfast without having a testosterone battle?" he asked. "Crap. Who invited him?" he asked when he saw his dad walk into the restaurant and head their way.

"I did," Jake admitted uncomfortably. "Sorry, dude," he whispered as Puck sighed heavily and closed his eyes, a little tick in his jaw twitched and his fists clenched as though he was fighting to stay in control. "You ok?" Jake whispered to Puck.

"Mmm," Puck replied through lips that seemed stuck together, he nodded slightly. "Dad," he said in greeting as Gabe Puckerman came to a stop at the table.

"Hey, both my boys together," Gabe Puckerman cried, slightly overdoing the proud dad bit.

"So?" Puck said with a shrug. "Did you want something?" he asked.

Gabe sighed heavily and looked defeated. "May I?" he asked, indicating an empty seat. Puck nodded and raised a hand to gesture for his dad to sit. "Look. Noah. I know," he started to say, tried to find the words to say to his son, to both of his sons, "I know I haven't been the best dad in the world," he managed to say, he also managed to ignore the mocking 'ha' from both Jake and Puck. Gabe glanced up at them both, judging how well he was being received. "But I _am_ your dad," he reminded them.

"And Sarah's," Puck said, he wanted to be sure that his dad remembered that he had a daughter too.

"Yes, and Sarah's," Gabe responded with a nod.

"So?" Puck asked again. "I still don't get why you're here. I mean, I know Jake called you and invited you, but even so," he said with a dismissive shrug, "what do you think you're going to get out of it? Rent money?" he asked. "Is that it? You need more rent money?"

"No, Noah, no, I'm in a good place now, I'm working hard, I have a steady paycheck, I'm keeping up with child support for your moms," Gabe told them both proudly. "Jake told me about the wedding, I just want to see you married and settled, I'd like to come to your wedding, if you'll let me," he asked humbly.

Puck didn't reply, he'd have to think about it, talk to Quinn and his mom about it. The more they delved into this wedding business, the harder it was getting. Puck was really glad that he and Quinn had taken the opportunity to have the perfect, simple day when they'd had the chance, this time around, everything seemed to be turning into a circus. "I'll talk to Quinn," he said, adding nothing more, he didn't feel the need. Gabe nodded tightly, the breakfast continued in a merrier vein.

* * *

"Call me when you arrive in New Haven," Puck instructed Quinn as they kissed and hugged beside her car. "I don't care what we promised, we still need some calls," he retorted before Quinn could protest.

"I wasn't going to argue with you," Quinn murmured against his chest then sniffed. "It's going to be a long, lonely month," she sighed.

"Yeah," Puck agreed. "Take care," he added then ushered Quinn into her car and stood back to watch her drive away.

"I love to see how much you love her," Judy said quietly from just behind Puck. "I knew years and years ago that you loved her, I could see it in your eyes in the hospital the day that Beth was born, you both just had to grow up a bit first."

* * *

"Hey," Puck whispered as soon as Quinn answered her phone two weeks later.

"Timezit?" Quinn mumbled into the receiver without opening her eyes, without even turning over in her bed.

"It's almost four," Puck whispered.

"In the morning?" Quinn demanded. "Seriously? Fuck you, Puckerman," she growled and slammed the phone towards the cradle. She didn't care a jot that she missed by a mile.

"Crap," Puck hissed into the darkness of their new house. Puck lifted up the covers and looked at his rather solid erection. "I thought she might at least want to indulge in a little phone sex, you know?" he grumbled to his dick. "I guess it's just you and me, right?" he asked his hand before closing his eyes and using his memories to bring himself pleasure.

* * *

"And how is the bride-to-be?" Santana asked as she got off the train in New Haven. "This freakin' town better be ready for us," she growled as she eyed up a rather pretty girl who had got off the train further along the platform.

"The bride-to-be is already married to the groom, don't forget," Quinn replied as first Santana then Rachel, Tina and Mercedes hugged her. "Where's Brit?" she asked, looking around for their friend.

"Don't tell me she disappeared again," Mercedes sighed. "She decided on the trip here that she doesn't want to be a mathematical genius anymore, she wants to be a train driver," she said and rolled her eyes in mock disgust.

"God help us," Quinn sighed. "Oh, yes, New Haven is ready for us," she belatedly replied. "There's a few of the girls from my old dorm coming with us too," she added. "Do you know what time Puck called me this morning?" she suddenly cried, she still couldn't believe that he'd done that after promising her mom that he wouldn't. "Four o'clock. Four AM. Why? Why would any sane person do that?" she demanded. "And I'm marrying him. Again. I must be nuts."

"Brit," Santana called as Brittany climbed down from the engine of the train and waved to the driver. "Over here," she called again, waving to grab the statuesque blonde's attention. "If she wasn't so damn gorgeous she'd drive me insane," Santana complained quietly with hardly a movement of her lips as she watched Brittany jog towards them, unaware of how many eyes, both male and female, were drawn to her as she ran.

* * *

"One, two, three," Santana counted before all the girls knocked back the tequila. "Woooooo," she cried as they all slammed their shot glasses back down on the bar. "At the bar, six shots just beginning," she sang then glanced around. "And if a dickhead puts his hand on me tonight, I might just bite it off," she growled. "More. Andre, line 'em up," she shouted to the bartender.

"Is she always this aggressive?" one of Quinn's college friends asked quietly, she really hoped not to offend Santana.

"Always," Mercedes answered for Quinn, giggling with the effects of the alcohol. "Karaoke," she cried and danced away to the other end of the bar with Tina to put their names down for a song or two. A few minutes of whispered consultation later, a few giggling squiggles on a list and they rejoined the group of slightly tipsy ladies. Santana was not impressed with the track they'd put her down for, Man I Feel Like A Woman, even though Mercedes and Tina laughed so hard they almost fell off their bar stools. Rachel loved the track they'd chosen for her, she remembered singing it when their set list was stolen the very first time they'd entered a show choir competition, and seriously, there better not be anyone even thinking about raining on her parade tonight.

"They're good, aren't they?" Anabelle murmured to Quinn as Santana and Brittany sang Valerie. "I wish I could sing," she pouted and laid her head on Quinn's shoulder. "Do you wish you could sing?" she asked then hiccupped daintily.

"She can sing," Tina assured Anabelle. "We were all in glee club together, didn't Quinn ever tell you that?" she asked.

"No, I thought you were all cheerleaders, Quinn said you were all cheerleaders," Anabelle answered. Tina spent a while explaining the intricacies of life at McKinley High School. "Wait a minute, wait a minute," Anabelle cried. "You had a _baby_?" she demanded, shocked and astounded. "Who with?" she squeaked. "Does Puck know?"

"Of course Puck knows," Quinn replied, equally surprised that it was a shock to any of them. "Puck is the father."

"And where is the baby?" Anabelle asked. "And how old is it?"

"Beth is six now," Quinn replied, feeling a little nostalgic, "and she's in London, with her adoptive mother, Shelby, who also happens to be Rachel's birth mother," she added. "Shelby was a surrogate for Rachel's dads. They're both gay by the way. Although that would be really weird if only one of them was. Gay that is," she added and laughed hysterically at herself.

"But initially Quinn told Finn that _he_ was the father and it was a mess, just a mess," Rachel grumbled. "I loved Finn, Puck loved Quinn, Quinn loved Puck, Finn loved me we were just all confused teenagers," she sighed. "Especially when Puck and I dated while Quinn and Finn dated. Until Finn sucker-punched Puck to get him to admit that he was the one, I mean, I loved him and all, but what idiot would believe he could get a girl pregnant by blowing his wad in a hot tub?" she drawled as her drink sloshed unsteadily in her glass. "Dumbass," she sighed and hugged herself tightly, a little tear welling up in the corner of her eye.

"Then there's the names," Tina added with a wave of her drink. "Finchel, Quick, Samcedes, Tike, Brittana, Klaine," she mumbled.

"I'm-I'm confused," Anabelle wailed. "Don't tell me any more, my head's spinning," she said with a gulp.

"It's fine, it's all good," Tina assured Anabelle. "Puck doesn't run around with cougars anymore and he and Quinn finally got married, Beth knows who they are and in a couple of weeks, they're having another wedding with all of us to cheer them on," she giggled.

"Oh God," Anabelle gulped, feeling rather sick, "why did I even ask?" she muttered and headed for the bathroom.

"So when is Puck having his bachelor party?" Mercedes asked after she'd downed another two shots.

"Next Saturday," Quinn replied unsteadily. "He's heading to Lima for the weekend with some of his air force buddies to meet up with a few of the guys," she explained.

* * *

"No, we can't," Blaine insisted with a drunken giggle. "Surely he'd get into trouble if we did, right?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at Sam, Jake and a few of Puck's air force buddies.

"He always rocked a 'hawk?" Gav, Puck's closest friend in his section asked.

"Oh, yeah, look at this," Sam replied and showed some old pictures from his Facebook page on his phone.

"We have got to do this," Gav insisted to all the guys.

"No, look, no, you can't," Jake tried to stop them, tried to defend his brother. "Quinn will kill him, she really likes his hair now," he told them, embarrassed for knowing stuff like that. So he listened to Marley when she talked endlessly about her idol and role model, Quinn Fabray. Big deal.

"Yes we can," Gav replied with a grin. "He'd do exactly the same to us and it's his own fault for getting so totally wasted," he added.

"He's only wasted because you dared him to drink a yard of vodka," Jake argued. "He doesn't usually fall down asleep at a bar, does he?" he demanded.

"Well, no, he's usually the one carrying us back to base," Sig admitted. "He's right, we can't shave his head, it wouldn't be right," he sighed. "But we can shave his legs," he called and laughed while rubbing his hands together. "He comes up with the best pranks to do on people, we've got to get our own back somehow," he told the other guys.

"My sister works at a beauty salon," Mike Chang reminded them. "If I was to call her right now I bet she'd open up for us, maybe do some waxing for us," he suggested. "Hey, it's got to be better than shaving his head or taking him for a tattoo. I mean, number one he already has tattoos, right, and number two...nope, it's gone, I lost it, what was I saying again?" he asked as his eyes rolled in his head. "Oh, right, waxing. Right. Remember New York?" he asked Sam, Sam scowled and nodded. Puck was going to be very sorry that he had ever been a master prankster, both in high school and in the air force. Payback was a merciless bitch.

* * *

"I can't believe the day has finally arrived," Judy gushed excitedly as she fluttered around Quinn's room getting in everyone's way.

"Mom, seriously, you need to relax," Frannie told Judy, taking hold of her mother's shoulders. "She's going to have a heart attack," she said over her shoulder to Quinn. "I don't think she was this nervous when I got married," she grumbled.

"But your father was here to take control," Tina reminded them.

"True," Frannie agreed and then turned back to take care of her make up. "So, you really haven't spoken to each other or seen each other for a month?" she asked Quinn in disbelief. "A whole month?"

"Not since we were here at the end of May," Quinn sighed, conveniently forgetting the few times that they had actually connected via cell phone. "I have missed him _so much_," she added more to herself than to anyone else.

"I love that we all have different dresses," Rachel said randomly, changing the subject totally.

"It's like that movie, 27 Dresses," Mercedes added, patting down the front of her black and gold dress, the one she'd worn at Regionals, the day that Beth was born.

"I love this dress," Sarah sighed as she twirled again in the red dress that Quinn had worn for Nationals when they'd won in senior year. "Can I keep it?" she asked.

"Of course," Quinn agreed straight away, Sarah hugged her. Quinn glanced at her sister. Frannie looked stunning in the white dress that Quinn had worn for Sectionals when she and Sam had sung a duet together, Frannie didn't have the black leggings on that the team had worn that day, but then, Frannie probably wouldn't be doing any over the head dance moves, so Quinn didn't think it would be a problem.

"The cars are here," Judy called up the stairs. "Is everyone ready?" she shouted.

"Yes," everyone chorused as they made their way from Quinn's room down the curving staircase towards the front door.

"Oh my," Judy sighed tearfully as first Frannie then Quinn brought up the rear. "You both look amazing, so beautiful," she said just before her voice broke. "I am so lucky to be your mom."

* * *

"I can't believe she's late," Puck muttered to Jake as they stood beside the piano in the choir room. Brad waited patiently to play the wedding march on cue, the second that Quinn put in her appearance. Puck paced a few steps left, then right, nervously watching the second hand on the clock tick round. "Who am I kidding, she's freakin' late for everything," he added, rolling his eyes, it was one of Quinn's little foibles, she was never, ever on time for anything. Just when you thought she was about to leave the house, she would miraculously remember a million things that just had to be done right now, right this very instant. It drove Puck to distraction, it certainly had when she'd lived with him through their sophomore year. "What the hell was I thinking?" he suddenly hissed to Jake. "We'll never be able to live together, we'll kill each other, we hate living together," he admitted. "She drives me nuts. I drive her nuts."

"And you love her to pieces," Jake reminded his brother and watched him calm down, watched the sappy, love-struck look slide over his tense face, wiping out all the worry.

"Yeah, I do," Puck agreed quietly as Becky Jackson suddenly raced into the choir room to announce that they were here. "Ready?" he asked Jake.

"I am, are you?" Jake tossed back with a huge grin on his face. It didn't matter if Jake was ready or not, Puck was the important one. And Quinn. Puck and Quinn. Together forever. Quick.

"As I'll ever be," Puck replied, then patted Jake's shoulder as Brad began to play and the girls began to file through to stand in line along the front of the room, holding their small bouquets in front of them. "Wow," he gulped the second he laid eyes on Quinn. "She's so damn beautiful," he sighed.

Quinn's hand shook as she placed it in Puck's grasp. "Hi," she whispered with a tremulous smile, her teeth biting into her lip as she always did when she was nervous. Puck looked amazing in his full dress uniform, he always made her stomach shiver and her knees weak - in a good way, definitely in a good way.

"Hey," Puck whispered back and leaned towards her to kiss her.

"Hold it mister," Sue Sylvester called, thrusting her hand between them. "I didn't tell you to do that yet," she reminded Puck. "You two always were a little previous though, weren't you?" she muttered with a judging look in her eyes. "Ok, here we go," she said a little louder. "I don't do all the dearly beloved crap because I'm not that type of person, but I will say that I really think that these two can make it," she said, looking at both Puck and Quinn. "A third of all marriages end in divorce these days, but I'm guessing that this one won't, I'd even put money on it," she said confidently. "What odds did my bookie give, Beckie?" she asked over her shoulder to her ever present assistant.

"Two hundred and seventy-seven to one, Coach," Beckie replied quickly, reading from the notes on her clipboard.

"So if it does happen to fail, I'll make a packet," Sue informed them. "Moving on," she announced, looking over their shoulders towards the gathering of people seated behind them. "I believe we have a musical number to suffer through right now. For whatever reason, the glee kids have decided to honour you in their own horrible fashion," she said, sounding totally bored.

"It's a beautiful night, I'm looking for something dumb to do," Jake sang, leaving his post beside Puck to join his male team mates and the former New Directions men to sing the Bruno Mars song. "Hey, baby, I think I want to marry you..."

"Going to the chapel and we're gonna get married," Marley sang, bringing all the girls into the mash up. "Going to the chapel of love..."

Puck and Quinn could both see the Jake, Mike and Brittany influences with the intricate dance routine their friends performed around them. Everyone was impressed, even Puck's air force buddies. Secretly, even Sue was impressed, not that she would ever admit that, she'd cut out her own tongue first. When the songs were over, Sue began the ceremony proper. "Who has the rings?" she asked, glaring at Jake as he patted his pockets, especially when he gave Puck a scared 'oh crap' look. "Rings?" Sue shouted again.

"These rings?" Beth Corcoran's lisping voice came from the doorway, she stood there in her pretty lilac dress, holding a white satin cushion with two gold rings tied to it.

"Oh," Quinn cried and twisted to look at Puck. "Did you know?" she asked with tears trembling on her lashes. Puck shook his head and had to swallow hard. Puck glanced at his grinning brother, obviously he'd known. Beth walked carefully towards her birth parents, she gave them a huge grin showing the gap where her tooth had fallen out. "Hi sweetie," Quinn whispered as she bent to hug the little girl.

"Hi," Beth whispered back and kissed Quinn's cheek.

"Hey, Monkey Face," Puck murmured as he crouched and stole a hug too.

"Hey, Big Daddy," Beth replied as she kissed Puck's cheek too. "This counts as two times, right?" she demanded over her shoulder towards her mother. Shelby nodded from the doorway before finding a seat to watch the rest of the ceremony. "Ha, I beat Molly Jansen," Beth muttered triumphantly to herself.

"Do you promise to love her all the days of your life?" Sue suddenly demanded, scowling at Puck.

"I do," Puck replied nervously, scared to say anything but that.

"Do you promise the same?" Sue asked Quinn. "Personally, I think you're stupid, but hey, you only have yourself to blame when it all goes wrong," she muttered.

"I do," Quinn answered in a hard voice. Why had they asked Sue to do this? She was ruining everything with her bad mood. Everything except Beth turning up, Quinn couldn't believe that had happened. How absolutely wonderful that Shelby had brought Beth back from London just for this. Quinn sighed and glanced over her shoulder at the little girl. Beth winked at her, well, she tried to, she clenched both of her eyes closed, one a little more than the other, but Quinn knew that she was trying to wink. Quinn winked back. "Sue," she interrupted the older woman's flow. "I think we got this," she said, turning to look at Puck, he turned too. "I don't remember a time when I didn't love you," she said quietly, staring lovingly into Puck's eyes. "And I can't ever imagine a time when I won't," she added then bit her lip. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you, I want to make you happy, I want to make me happy," she said and almost sobbed as she rushed to get her words out before her voice failed.

"From the very first time I laid eyes on you," Puck said quietly, trailing his fingers gently down her cheek, "I knew you were the only girl for me," he smiled, "despite everything," he added with a self-conscious grin. "And I knew it would be forever," he continued. "There are just a few days in my life where I can say that everything changed for the better. One of them was the day that Beth was born, one of them was the day we tied the knot in New York and the other is today, when I can say, in front of all our family and friends, Quinn Fabray, you are my soul mate and I love you with all my heart," he said intensely, sincerely. Puck drew Quinn into his arms and kissed her soundly to the cheers and applause of all of their witnesses.

"Do I get some cake now?" Beth asked loudly, holding on to Shelby's hand and swinging it. "You said I'd get cake," she reminded the blushing woman.

"Yes, you get cake," Puck answered with a laugh over his shoulder. "What do you say, Mrs Puckerman?" he asked Quinn. "Ready to party?"

"Sure am," Quinn replied and looked back over at Rachel, she could tell by Rachel's face that she hadn't expected to see Shelby or Beth today either.

* * *

"I really would like to thank you all for coming today and especially, my thanks go to my brother, Jake," Puck said, glancing down at his notes occasionally. "Not only did he do an excellent job as my best man, he also saved me from a fate worse than Angry Quinn," he explained with a laugh. Puck glanced at Quinn. "During my bachelor party, when some of my more mature buddies thought that getting me out of my head drunk and shaving my hair into a mohawk was a really good idea, my little brother saved me," Puck told everyone and rubbed his hand over the top of his head, dislodging his hair a little then he reached down to scratch his leg rather obviously. "Although he couldn't quite stop them from doing a little grooming...I don't know how you girls stand it," he grumbled, "and the stubble?" he sighed, shaking his head and rolling his eyes to the sound of muted laughter all around the room. Puck continued with his speech, then sat down.

"It's a good job about the 'hawk," Quinn muttered through her smile as Puck sat back down beside her.

"I know," Puck agreed, "I don't think my CO would have appreciated it either, I might not have gotten my promotion," he added then waited for Quinn to realise what he'd said.

"Promotion?" Quinn demanded, thrilled for him.

"Yup," Puck replied and returned Quinn's ecstatic hug. "Recommendation from my former CO apparently," he explained.

"I am so proud of you," Quinn told him, love and happiness shining in her bright, sparkling eyes.

Beth came to stand at the table in front of Puck and Quinn. "Can I do my dance for you now?" she asked desperately, she seemed to be fizzing with excitement. "I been practising and practising," she informed them. "Momma says I have to wait till you're ready and all the speaking's stopped. Is the speaking stopped?" she demanded.

"I think any more speeches can wait till you've done your dance," Puck replied, he gave Quinn's hand a squeeze under the table, they were both so thrilled that Beth was here for their second special day.

"And then do we get the cake?" Beth asked, one eyebrow raised up, just like Quinn did so often.

"Yes, we'll cut the cake after you've shown us your dance," Quinn promised.

"May I have your attention, please?" Jake called, bringing everyone to order. "Ms Beth Corcoran is going to perform her favourite dance from The Nutcracker," he announced and applauded, everyone around the room applauded too. Brad and the band provided the music, Beth was exquisite in her performance, the concentration on her little face was absolutely hilarious. When Beth got to the end of her piece and dropped into a low curtsey in front of Puck and Quinn the whole place erupted into tumultuous applause for the sweet little girl. "Marley and I have prepared something for the happy couple's first dance. Puck, Quinn, if you will?" Jake said and urged them to the dance floor as he and Marley took the stage to sing for them.

"Heart beats fast  
Colours and promises  
How to be brave?  
How can I love when I'm afraid to fall?  
But watching you stand alone,  
All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow," Marley sang, she could barely keep her eyes off Jake although she tried really, really hard.

"One step closer," Marley and Jake sang together.

"I have died every day waiting for you  
Darling, don't be afraid I have loved you  
For a thousand years  
I'll love you for a thousand more," they sang, this time their eyes connected, all the while Puck and Quinn gracefully circled the dance floor, their eyes locked together, the love shining between them.

"Time stands still  
Beauty in all she is  
I will be brave  
I will not let anything take away  
What's standing in front of me  
Every breath  
Every hour has come to this," Jake sang, his breath almost caught in his throat as he trailed his fingers down Marley's cheek, watched her gulp, saw the look in her eyes, the love that was still there.

"One step closer,

I have died every day waiting for you  
Darling, don't be afraid I have loved you  
For a thousand years  
I'll love you for a thousand more

And all along I believed I would find you  
Time has brought your heart to me  
I have loved you for a thousand years  
I'll love you for a thousand more," Marley and Jake sang together. Jake took her in his arms and danced with her, mimicking the moves of the couple in the centre of the dance floor.

"One step closer  
One step closer," Marley sang, her eyes still fixed onto Jake's.

"I have died every day waiting for you  
Darling don't be afraid I have loved you  
For a thousand years  
I'll love you for a thousand more

And all along I believed I would find you  
Time has brought your heart to me  
I have loved you for a thousand years  
I'll love you for a thousand more," they sang together as they danced. Very slowly, very gently they came to a standstill, both oblivious of the audience, they'd completely forgotten where they were. "I love you so much and I am so sorry that I hurt you," Jake said, the truth and intensity in his words were undeniable to Marley.

"I forgive you," Marley whispered an instant before Jake's lips covered hers, at the exact same second that Puck took possession of Quinn's lips.

Puck became aware of the applause surrounding him and Quinn only when he felt a sharp tug on the leg of his pants. "Do we get cake _now_?" Beth demanded.

"Yes, we get cake now," Puck agreed without breaking eye contact with Quinn. "Are you sure you want to make another one of those?" he asked her quietly.

"Not for a few years," Quinn murmured her reply, "I want you all to myself for a while," she added and gave Puck a saucy look, a naughty wink.

"And what will you do with me?" Puck asked, drawing Quinn even closer to his body.

"Show you how much I love you," Quinn answered and wrapped her arms tight around his neck. "See, I've always known who my soul mate is," she whispered. "I knew it from the very first time you kissed me under the bleachers when you found me crying because of Sue and her vicious tongue, I knew it when you defended me to Finn, when you kept the secret from him, even though it nearly killed you to. I always knew, there's never been anyone else for me, I would never want there to be. I love you with all my heart, my soul, you are my soul mate," she sighed as their lips touched together one more time.


End file.
